Next Time For Sure
by Ku lassa
Summary: Anyone who knew him knew about his lack of presence. But what if there was more to his appearances and disappearances? What if he was never really there when he claimed to be? What if he was actually jumping through time? And why is he doing it?


**Misdirection**

His own baffling time travelling ability is not something Kuroko could control. He can't decide where he'll end up in, he can't decide when. He doesn't have a say to when it will happen.

And it's happening again.

It's been a few days since the Winter Cup, and Ryota Kise promised Kuroko that he'd treat him to a milkshake at Maji Burger. On the way, Kise was being melodramatic by whining about how Kasamatsu – his current captain – was always very mean. He told Kuroko about how he'd always hit him over the smallest things, and how he never ever got his way. He liked to compare Kasamatsu to Akashi, and Kuroko could tell that Kise subconsciously missed seeing the Generation of Miracles as a team. It was something he could sympathize with.

However, before he could delve into the trail of thoughts, Kuroko felt a tingling sensation. He blinked – it took him less than a second to blink, yet when he opened his eyes, he was no longer looking at Kise's lively face. Instead he was staring at Taiga Kagami, who was unwrapping a hamburger.

Kagami didn't seem to notice him at that time, understandably so. Kuroko suspected that when he travels to a different time, his body disappears from the era he'll be leaving, and materialize into the time he'll be visiting. The lack of presence was a side effect that he learned to put into good use. But it didn't mean that he was comfortable with the idea of disappearing in the middle of a perfectly good conversation.

_Kise-kun will think that I voluntarily left him again, _he thought, feeling rueful. Then, remembering that there wasn't anything he could do about it, he decided to observe his surroundings to get a gist of the date. He glanced at Kagami; he looked a little less burly compared to the last time he saw him, which was really just a little while ago (or rather, a few months into the future if you want to be specific). It was during their training – a few minutes before Kise dragged him away from Seirin

_Ah, _Kuroko thought, glancing at the cup of shake that he suddenly had in his hands, _I travelled back to that time, right before Seirin's practice match with Kaijo. _

He watched how the hot-headed ace's eyes travelled to the window and widen upon seeing the reflection. Then, Kuroko braced himself – knowing fully well what to expect.

"WHAAAAAAA!" Kagami shrieked, surprised by Kuroko's sudden appearance.

"Hello," he greeted, unfazed by the red-head's reaction.

"Where from…wait, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was sitting here from the very beginning," Kuroko lied.

…X…

_!_

Kise desperately wanted to bang his head against a wall after realizing a few minutes into the conversation that he was talking to thin air.

Kuroko disappeared. _Again._

This hasn't happened to him in awhile. He kind of missed it, but he wished that Kuroko didn't have the gall to disappear in the middle of a chat. Kise was completely aware of the strange looks he's been getting for a good three minutes. He hadn't realized 'til then that the shadow was no longer there.

Grudgingly, he pulled out his phone.

"Hello! Aominecchi! Do you want to meet up in Maji Burger?"

He paused for a while, listening to Aomine's reply. Then, his lips spread into a huge smile. "Alright! Bring Akashicchi and the rest!" then he closed his phone. He knew that Kuroko, wherever he may be, would have the mind to go to the restaurant if he decided to see him again. When he comes, they'll be there. _All of them._ Just like old times.

…X…

When Kuroko was aware of his surroundings, he found himself standing in front of Seirin. The entire team was there, and they were obviously looking for something or _someone._ It was an extremely familiar scene, and Kuroko instantly knew what he had to do. He made his way forward, saying, "I'm here," causing his teammates' backs to straighten.

"You are?!"

"Yes, I've been here the whole time." He huffed a breath.

He's been travelling in time loops for as long as he could remember, and he doesn't really know _how _it started. To say that it doesn't bother him would be a lie, but he has grown accustomed to this way of life. In fact, he preferred things this way – never moving beyond the time bracket he was comfortable with. He had his reasons. He didn't want to venture into the world beyond the _incident._ He didn't want to venture into a world without them – the Generation of Miracles. Yes, he had Seirin. He loved them, in fact. Had he accepted things back then (or in the future), he might've come out stronger. His bond with Seirin would've grown stronger – they could never afford to leave him!

But he was weak, and he couldn't accept it.

Deep down, he wondered if his refusal to move on was the cause of this strange phenomenon, but he decided not to question it.

He was on his way to a practice match against Kaijo, a few weeks before the Inter High. He needed to concentrate…and prepare for the slap that he knew awaited him.

…X…

"Kise-kun, did you invite Tetsu-kun?" Momoi asked, a tray of burgers in her hands, as she made her way towards the table. Kise nodded, glancing at his phone. "I was actually on my way here with him but–"

"Eh? Then where is he now?"

"As I was saying, Aominecchi, I was on my way here with Kurokocchi when he suddenly vanished! I felt lonely so I called you guys and invited you over!" Five pairs of eyes blinked back at Kise before an echo of sighs dashed across the table.

"Well, it seems like Tetsuya will never change. If he were looking for us, he'll know where to look. No need to bother him with any more texts, Ryouta," Akashi stated, taking a burger bun from the tray. The rest of the team did the same, and for a moment, it was silent as they all took their first bites and stared out the window – hoping to see the small shadow make his way there.

And then – _"Wait!" _Kise looked at Akashi, whimpering. "Akashicchi, you think that Kurokocchi is bothered by my texts?"

"Aka-chin _knows,_" Murasakibara said – his voice muffled as he chewed on cheese. Then, Midorima pushed his spectacles up – the glass glinting against the sunlight. "Kise, you must've forgotten something–"

"–I am _always_ correct." The former captain's eyes glinted in malevolence. Then, the smallest of grins ghosted over his features as Kise turned on the waterworks. He was enjoying himself.

Midorima inhaled, a soft smile playing across his lips. "Yes, what he said."

After the Winter Cup, Akashi was not pleased. The very thought that his victory was not guaranteed in everything in life smacked him like brick. It hurt, and it sucked. It had taken him a while to calm down – about a week at a minimum. And within that week, he had thoroughly thought things through. He never opted to change – for now, at least. However, he decided that mingling with his former teammates was worth a try.

Kuroko knew that it was better than nothing. He knew that slowly, but surely, their family will be complete. He was eager to see that day come.

Too bad it never did.

…X…

Kuroko watched with sad eyes as he watched Seirin vanish before him. It was happening again – and in such a joyful moment too. They had just won the Winter Cup, and his current team was having a victory party at Kagami's house. The redhead made most of the food – some of them were offered (_cough_, forced into the table, _cough_) by Riko, Their coach. they had lots to eat; Kagami must've been that glad. There were several dishes – ranging from Japanese to American. It had all the favorites of every player. There was even a bowl of vanilla milkshake, much to Kuroko's delight.

They have been on cloud nine ever since the buzzer beater rang, signaling the finality of the game. Seirin had won by a point, shocking the entire stadium into silence. Then, there was an uproar as everyone erupted into cheers. Riko was crying. So was most of Seirin. And Akashi was frozen into place. Teiko's former captain did not accept the comforts of his teammates as he dashed off, and no one has heard of him for the rest of the day.

But he spoke with Kuroko eventually, saying that _no, _maybe he did not mind seeing the rest of the Miracles. But then he clarified that he had no intention of allowing himself to lose again. He had accepted his loss, saying that it was the consequence of a little miscalculation, and claimed not to make the same error again.

But things seemed brighter when he agreed to meet the Miracles a second time.

Then, the last.

The last thing Kuroko was aware of as he vanished from Seirin's sight was Hyuuga's cheerful voice saying, "Hey, isn't someone missing?" before he disappeared into a chasm and woke up in front of Maji Burger.

He saw his former teammates and manager eating by the window. Everyone was there – Akashi, Aomine, Murasakibara, Kise, Midorima and Momoi. They were happily talking about something – probably teasing Kise by the looks of it. Then, as Kuroko analyzed the scene, his blood ran cold.

It was _that _day.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to change things, Kuroko quickly scuttled to the restaurant. He lacked some finesse as he made his way to the group, and some people glared at him for oh-so-rudely slamming the door open like that – accidentally splashing a woman's coffee into her dress – but he didn't care.

"AKASHI-KUN! EVERYONE!" he screamed, for once being the center of attention as people in the restaurant stared at him. Six pairs of eyes looked at him in alarm. He must've looked disheveled and extremely pale. But Kuroko didn't care.

His eyes were averted to the window, and he felt his stomach drop.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" he cried with what little strength he had left.

But it was too late. A truck that was spinning out of control slammed into the glass window just beside the Miracles, simultaneously crushing them in the process. The catastrophe was followed by a chorus of shrieks and screams, but Kuroko did not join in. He was too horrified to speak.

This was too much. Seeing it once was excruciating, but _twice?_

Kuroko's head was spinning, and his stomach was twisting in knots.

_Aomine..._

_Midorima..._

_Kise..._

_Akashi..._

_Murasakibara..._

_Momoi..._

_Gone. _Just like that.

The worst part is that he knew what was coming, and he never got to stop it. Dazed, he fell, causing his ankle to throb in pain at the sudden weight – weight that was suddenly too much for him. He stared at the bodies, not moving a muscle, not speaking – just staring.

It happened again – _no. _He _let _it happen again.

"Hey, kid! Get out of there!" a police officer said, pulling Kuroko up. That was when he felt something build up from the pit of his stomach. He covered his mouth with his hands, making a sound like he was going to be sick. The officer stayed still, not moving him, waiting for him to calm down.

Then, just like that, he disappeared – back into the past. Before any of this happened.

…X…

"Excuse me! Is Kuroko-kun here?"

Kuroko tried to steady his erratic breaths. It came in uneven huffs and drained his brain. He felt like he was on the verge of collapsing. But he managed to catch it anyway. He still had the mind to understand that he had travelled again.

When he had calmed down, he looked around and saw that he was surrounded by a bunch of middle school students. He tried to take a step forward and was surprised to see that his legs didn't take him far. Looking down, he was greeted by a pair of skinny, middle school legs. After observing his surroundings, he came up with three conclusions.

_One, _he was in Teiko's gym.

_Two, _h_e_ was currently on the day that he got admitted to the first string.

And _three, _his friends were safe.

He glanced at the voice that was calling him and tried to suppress a grin when he saw a young, unblemished Satsuki Momoi.

"Um, that's me." He tried not to cringe at his voice, which sounded really childish compared to how it was in high school. However, he concluded that it was better than the last time he used it, which was to scream at his friends to get out of the way – a mission that ended in failure.

He waited for Momoi to stop freaking out over his sudden appearance and followed her into the first gym. It took a lot of willpower for him to not stop and stare at every school facility as nostalgia hit him at full-force.

"Excuse me. I brought Kuroko Tetsuya-kun," Momoi stated, walking into the gym, with Kuroko following suit. He felt his stomach unknot at the sight before him. They were all there – alive and unscathed.

"Hey! You finally made it, Tetsu!" The younger Aomine was first to greet him. He was then followed by the nicer Akashi. "Hey, I was waiting for you."

Kuroko stared at them, an indescribable expression crossing over his features.

_Next time for sure, _he thought, determined.

The entire clump of Teiko's basketball regulars were facing him now, and his eyes ghosted over his former teammates again and again – savoring their safety...

"Welcome to the Teiko basketball club's first string."

* * *

Hello! So this is my first fanfic! After about four days since making this account, I finally published a story! _Gawd._ I've been itching to write this for awhile now – I finally got found the time! Anyway, I'm also planning to write another fic after this. Multi-chaptered. I'm already tired just thinking about it, but I already have a plot!

Anyway, I hope that this was...fun? Thanks so much for reading this!

Now...to actually _write_ something on my profile...


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